textproduct: Amarillo

KEY MESSAGES

Issued at 1131 PM CST Mon Jan 19 2026

- Slight warmup today with temperatures staying in the 50s to low 60s this afternoon.

- Watching for a potential arctic airmass to move in with snow chances present for the Panhandles Friday and Saturday.

SHORT TERM

(Tonight through Wednesday night) Issued at 1131 PM CST Mon Jan 19 2026

A strong closed upper-level low is currently holding over the Hudson Bay, which is keeping the Panhandles under a more northerly to northwesterly upper-level flow for the next couple of days. This flow pattern will allow for slightly cooler air to stay across the Panhandles and keep temperatures a bit more regulated for the mid-week. As it stands, look for afternoon highs to stay mostly in the 50s with the occasional leaning towards the upper 40s and low 60s in our notoriously hotter and colder spots. Unfortunately, this pattern is not seeing much in terms of precipitation, with chances staying below 10% for the next 3 days.

LONG TERM

(Thursday through next Monday) Issued at 1131 PM CST Mon Jan 19 2026

Thursday continues to mark the start of a pattern change with multiple models seeing a cold front push in sometime Thursday night into Friday in association of a new upper-level trough pushing in from our northwest. This front and trough are currently trending towards putting the Panhandles under a twofold winter weather impact for both Friday and Saturday. The first and currently most confident impact, is going to be the much colder temperatures as multiple models are seeing a very cold air mass follow behind the incoming front. As it stands latest trends are seeing afternoon highs Friday plummet into the 20s to 30s with Saturday possibly seeing high near the teens. These colder temperatures will also lead to concerns about morning conditions as winds chills could reach below zero. As for the second impact, multiple models have also been seeing high amounts of moisture force it way across Texas from both gulf sources for both the mid and lower levels of the atmosphere. This moisture alongside the lift coming from the front is more than capable of creating snow showers across the Panhandles. However, where, when, and how much are a completely different story. Currently the ECMWF and GFS have been back and forth on the where they want to put the biggest bullseye in for highest snowfall amount, with present GFS favoring just south of us. As for the ensembles, they currently favor us seeing widespread accumulating snow showers, with chances of seeing at least an inch of snow by Saturday night around 50 to 70%. Even higher amounts could be possible for that time frame with present ensemble runs suggesting chances of 5 inches or more running around 30 to 40% for the Southern and Eastern Panhandles. However, hopes are not set too high on these amounts as they are relying on a lot of mesoscale features falling into places that can easily change over the course of the next couple days. For now, confidence will remain high on the potential to see snow in the Panhandles, but not in the possible amounts.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1131 PM CST Mon Jan 19 2026

Dry weather continues to hold for the overnight tonight as well as all of Tuesday. Winds are likely to pickup at the surface for all three terminals during the late morning and afternoon. However, speeds should stay around 10 to 15kt with gust around 25kt. Otherwise, look for VFR conditions to hold for the current package.

AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...None. OK...None.